If you want to partake of horror movie thrills this Halloween week, but are pressed for time, I’m here to help. Horror short films have become abundant online in recent years, many of which appear more professionally made than some big budget Hollywood movies. With that in mind, big studios frequently find themselves turning to horror short filmmakers to adapt their shorts into feature films. But few expanded features ever capture the efficiency of the original short films.

Below, I’ve gathered 10 scary short films you can watch right now to get yourself in the Halloween spirit. Some are very short – one only runs a minute long! And some are a bit longer – the longest being a little over 16 minutes. Overall, you should have enough time in your busy schedule to sit back and let these short films give you the creeps.

What happens when a sequel to your hit spy movie starring Angelina Jolie fails to materialize? A television reboot, of course. After half a decade of a follow-up to Salt not getting made, Sony has thrown in the towel on a proper sequel and have decided to take the Evelyn Salt to the small screen. Specifics are currently unknown, but we can safely assume that Jolie will not be reprising the role. You’re crazy if you think the notoriously picky movie star would willingly sign up for a TV series.

This weekend Melissa McCarthy enters secret agent territory as the unlikely hero Susan Cooper in the action comedy Spy. And while the trailers seem to indicate that she’s probably not the best woman for the job, she did get us thinking about the best spies in the business.

There have been plenty of spies on the big screen, from James Bond to Jason Bourne, and I decided to count down the Top 15 Best Movie Spies that we’ve seen throughout the years. However, you won’t find the likes of real-life spies whose life stories have been adapted for film. Instead, this is a collection of fictional spies from the movies. So with that out of the way, let’s count down the Top 15 Movies spies after the jump. Read More »

While the Angelina Jolie vehicle Salt wasn’t a runaway hit in the U.S., it ultimately earned almost $300 million in worldwide box office — definitely enough to inspire some sequel chatter. But the actual process of making another film hasn’t been so smooth. Director Phillip Noycepulled out of the potential follow-up in late 2010, and earlier this year the project received a severe blow when Jolie rejectedKurt Wimmer‘s draft of the screenplay.

Columbia Pictures hasn’t lost all hope, however. The studio is dusting itself off and starting over with Becky Johnston (Seven Years in Tibet, The Prince of Tides), who’s now tasked with penning a new script that’ll pass muster with Jolie. More details after the jump.

Sure, moviegoers may love standing in the midnight showing line for The Avengers or arguing over The Dark Knight Rises plot holes at the bar, but what do they turn on when they finally go back to the privacy of their own homes? Rental retailer Redbox knows, and in honor of their ten-year anniversary, they’re sharing a list of their top ten most-rented movies since 2002. Here’s a hint: Adam Sandler is really, really popular. Hit the jump to see the list.

This week, Dave, Devindra, and Adam continue their discussion about Tree of Life, find something redeemable about the Pirates sequels, and get excited about Darren Aronofsky’s next project. Special guest director Rian Johnson returns. Check out Rian’s films on Netflix and Amazon. His newest film, Looper, will be in theaters September 2012.

You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us for our next live broadcast on Sunday, June 19th, at Slashfilm’s live page where we’ll be discussing The Green Lantern.

Briefly: You know you want a Salt sequel. Wait, you don’t? Shh, don’t tell Sony. The studio has Kurt Wimmer writing the sequel right now, and the idea is that if the script passes muster, Angelina Jolie will sign on to reprise her role as Russian spy and CIA agent on the run Evelyn Salt who (spoiler!) ended the first movie intending to hunt down other sleeper agents.

When Salt was released last year, writer Kurt Wimmersaid he had an idea for a sequel, and most involved parties expressed interest in signing on. Director Phillip Noyce will not take part, however, as he said that the alternate blu-ray cuts pretty much represented his last word on the character. We don’t know yet what the story for the sequel would be, but this could easily be a Bourne-style franchise for Sony, with Angelina Jolie dashing in disguise through a few movies beating the hell out of deep-cover Russian agents. Presumably, she could be accepted back into the CIA and hunt down other spies for them, as well. [Deadline]

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is testing new features in iTunes with an eye on the digital distribution of a film becoming its primary one. As it stands now, iTunes movies are generally just that – the movie, with the majority of the special features relegated to a Blu-ray or DVD. But with a few new releases, Sony is “quietly testing” features that will be exclusive to people who purchase a movie on iTunes, such as the ability to clip scenes from their movies to share on social networks as well the ability to search for certain words in the script. It’s their hope that features like this will entice people to purchase on iTunes instead of DVD while simultaneously acting as an experiment to what’s possible within the digital medium. Read More »

This Week in DVD & Blu-ray is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD and Blu-ray releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy and Fry’s.

SALT
Salt barrels forward at a relentless pace, and stops only for the most perfunctory of emotional beats. You know they’re emotional beats because somber music plays in the background while characters gaze longingly at each other. 30 seconds of that, and it’s back to more running, car hopping and violently-inflicted bodily injury. None of the action is especially impressive or inspired, but what it lacks in polish it makes up for in sheer volume. The mystery of Evelyn Salt is meant to keep the audience on their toes as the action unfolds, but it’s all so ludicrous and predictable; if there is a compelling mystery at the core of Salt, it’s learning just how much casual ass-kickery it can fit into a 100 minute package.Available on Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: DVD – A filmmakers’ commentary, an unrated filmmakers’ commentary, an unrated extended filmmakers’ commentary, 2 featurettes (“The Ultimate Female Action Hero”, “Spy Disguise: The Looks of Evelyn Salt”), and “The Treatment” Radio Interview with Phillip Noyce. Blu-ray – Includes everything on the DVD, as well as a Spy Cam: Picture-in-Picture function, and additional featurettes (“The Real Agents”, “The Modern Master of the Political Thriller: Phillip Noyce”, “False Identity: Creating A New Reality”).